Just Maybe
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day six hundred and fifty-one: Sam finds he likes hanging out with Rachel, and Nell likes her too... so he tries to find excuses.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 30th cycle. Now cycle 31!_

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><p><strong>Hear that little bird twitter!<strong> _Been thinking about doing this for a couple days, then this morning decided to just go for it. If you go there, find 'gleekathon' and there I'll be. There's also a video explaining everything... Yep... ;) Check it out!_

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><p><em><strong>In case you didn't see it thursday... <strong>The gleekathon songbook is now available, and this week (thursday to today (it's over!)) is dedicated to a friend whose birthday it was yesterday. The link to the songbook and a video explaining this week are both available on gleekathon twitter :D_

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><p><strong>"Just Maybe"<br>Sam & Nell, Sam/Rachel  
>Sequel to "This for That" <strong>

This was starting to dawn on him, how much she was becoming a part of all the good parts of his life… Glee Club, home with Nell… It wasn't even just that she was there, anyone could have been, but… she fit, and when she was around, he felt like everything was alright, better than alright. He never guessed it would be her. In no way disrespectful to her, she wasn't what he expected.

But now that she was that person, the one that made his life what it was, all he knew was that he wanted to be around her as much as he could. This led to one option: find chances to spend more time with her.

The key was to be attentive, to all she said. He joined some clubs, figuring correctly that it was a sure fire way to get closer, since she was in so many of them. He chose wisely, knowing that if he was just a fish out of water she'd realize something. As far as his previous history with girls went, this was definitely out of the usual, but he had to admit he enjoyed it… He wasn't the only one.

He would have Nell with him sometimes when they met. Rachel had spent enough time with her now that it felt natural to him, having the two of them associated. It was even more so as he came to realize how much Nell was starting to recognize her. Now when she'd see Rachel she'd start to smile, hold out her little hands… And when she'd leave Nell would cry and he'd have to comfort her… She was getting used to the occasional Rachel lullaby, too, to the point where Sam was this close to asking Rachel to record some so he could play them when she wasn't around.

And then one day he did mention it to her, almost as a joke, but she didn't see it as that, and she gladly accepted. So now they had a recording session scheduled for the coming weekend.

Waiting for her to arrive, all he could do was to make sure everything was ready… guitar, recording equipment… His mother had been throwing him funny looks since he did sound check. The last thing to do was to get Nell dressed. "You're not going to make fun of me, are you?" he asked, and she just stared at him. "Thanks," he gave her a smile before picking her up, which got her to smile back. The smiling just kept on going a minute later, when the doorbell rang and Rachel arrived.

"Hey, Nelly," Rachel picked up the girl's tiny hands.

"You know you're the only one she lets call her that?" he smirked.

"Well, we're friends, she gets it." Rachel was definitely getting more comfortable with her every time. It would astound him to think of how far she'd come, from the first time she'd met her. "So are we ready?"

"Uh, yeah, right through here," he led her to the basement. It would be isolated enough, without giving the wrong impression. Nell was placed in her car seat, knowing how animated she could get when there was singing.

They started recording, and their success was measured in how Nell did fall asleep before long, stayed that way for most of the recording. When she did wake up, it wouldn't be for long. When they were done, Sam picked her back up in his arms, careful not to wake her.

"You're so good with her," Rachel observed, smiling at the image before her.

"So are you," he insisted, not tearing his eyes from his daughter.

"Oh, I don't… I mean I'm not…" she blushed.

"No, but you are," he insisted, finally looking back at her. "You have to know that."

"Thanks," she bowed her head. "But I mean for you, I… This couldn't have been easy, adjusting to this, at our age…" she clarified.

"I had a few months to prepare, before she was born. I was still… terrified, the first time I held her, like I'd drop her and she'd break… Sometimes that's still what it feels like, but… I look at her and… she trusts me, she knows me… and then I'm okay…" He looked back down to her. "I had no idea how much I could love her, and then…."

"I have to ask, and if you don't want to answer, please, just tell me to shut up…" He smirked, though he had a feeling he knew what she'd ask… He was right. "What happened to her mom? Is she…"

"Her name's Summer. When we found out she was pregnant, she made it clear she didn't want it… But we made a deal, that if she carried her to term, let her be born, then I would take care of the baby, and she never had to see her, unless she wanted to…" he explained; he had to look to Rachel as he spoke, not to Nell… It was silly, but he didn't want her understanding… not like this.

"And has she…"

"I haven't spoken to or heard from her since the day Nell was born… She never even held her…" This part of the story weighed on him, and it must have shown in his voice. Rachel's face saddened, and she looked down to the sleeping girl, gently brushed at her blonde hair.

"She's so lucky to have you," she spoke, her voice low. He didn't know if this was out of sympathy, or some sense of connection. He was vaguely aware of her story, her two gay dads, her birth mother coming back into and going right back out of her life… Maybe she felt something of a bond to her for that. They each had their stories, but some paths would cross.

"You want to?" he asked, shifting a bit to indicate he was offering for her to hold Nell.

"Can I?" she asked, brightened just a bit. He smiled, making the hand off. Nell had a moment to resettle, but soon she clung right to Rachel, still in her slumber. While she held her, Sam got to burning the CD of lullabies, complete with a gold star cover… It was all set for that night. Now he had an afternoon to spend with Rachel, and he couldn't have been happier.

THE END

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><p><strong>AN: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
><strong>**In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
><strong>******always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!******


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